In working with survivors of acute and repeated traumatic events over the last several decades, I am always particularly conscious of individuals’ self-regulating capacities initially and throughout our work together. Self-regulation is currently a ubiquitous term used to describe not only the capacity to control one’s impulses, but also to be able to soothe and calm the body’s reactions to stress. It is the ability to modulate affective, sensory and somatic responses that impact all functioning including emotions and cognition. It also refers to the brain’s executive function to control impulses, delay actions if necessary and initiate them if necessary, even if one does not want to.

By the simplest definition, bilateral simply means “involving two sides.” Sensory integration is often associated with bilateral techniques that assist individuals in organizing specific sensations via methods found in occupational therapy. In the process of reparation from psychological trauma, various forms of bilateral stimulation or movement seem to be effective in engaging cross-hemisphere activity in the brain (Shapiro, 2001) and in art therapy possibly because it reconnects “thinking” and “feeling” (Malchiodi, 2003/2011) via the sensory-based processes involved in art making. These applications seem to have an impact on recovery from traumatic events because for many individuals, the limbic system and right hemisphere of the brain are hyperactivated by actual experiences or memories of trauma. In brief, specific processes found in bilateral stimulation may help regulate body and mind thus allowing explicit memory to be reconnected with implicit memory.

Source: Bilateral Scribble Drawing from collection of Cathy Malchiodi

Bilateral drawing is a deceptively simple art-based activity that has been around since at least the 1950s that capitalizes on self-regulating properties similar to rocking, walking, cycling or drumming. Some art therapy practitioners refer to bilateral drawing as “scribbling with both hands” because the intent is not necessarily to make a specific image, but to instead just engage both hands in spontaneous drawing with chalks, pastels or other easily manipulated art materials. Like many art and expressive arts therapists, I have used this activity for several decades and actually learned it during college art courses as a way of “loosening up” before beginning to draw or paint. Florence Cane (1951) is one of many early art therapy practitioners who observed a connection between free-form gestural drawing on paper, the kinesthetic sense involved in movement, and the embodied qualities of the experience. In her work with children and adults in the mid-20th century, Cane hypothesized that it is important to engage individuals through movements that go beyond the use of the hands to engage the whole body in natural rhythms. In particular, she refers to large swinging gestures that come from the shoulder, elbow or wrist to not only liberate creative expression, but also act in a restorative capacity to support healthy rhythms in the body and mind. In other words, these rhythmic movements can be practiced in the air and then later transferring them to paper with drawing materials.

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AATA
October 6, 2016
The American Art Therapy Association and our friends at Americans for the Arts are celebrating October as National Arts and Humanities Month! President Obama has already kicked things off by issuing an official White House Proclamation that articulates the importance of the arts and culture in our history and in our future. He states, “In many ways, the arts and humanities reflect our national soul. They are central to who we are as Americans—as dreamers and storytellers, creators and visionaries. By investing in the arts, we can chart a course for the future in which the threads of our common humanity are bound together with creative empathy and openness.”

Get Involved

This year, the #ShowYourArt campaign has been designed to engage arts advocates on local, state, and national levels, and to bring awareness of National Arts and Humanities Month to the public. For each day in October, the #ShowYourArt campaign will be issuing a unique theme that challenges participants to showcase how art is reflected in those themes every day. See p. 2 of this article for daily themes.

Participate in the National Creative Conversation on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016 from 9-10 p.m. ET to connect and chat with arts advocates nationwide about the arts in communities. The conversation will focus on the question of “Where are the arts popping up in your community?”

Using these resources, organize and host a community event at a local arts venue.

Boost your creativity by joining in the Creative Sprint, a global art game that engages individuals, businesses, schools, and community organizations for 30 consecutive days of art making and sharing.

Art therapists are uniquely positioned to speak on the role of the creative arts in mental health, a topic of great importance for individuals, communities, organizations, and legislation. Join us in promoting National Arts and Humanities month and raising awareness for the importance of the arts!